Univision buying USA Network TV stations for $1.1 billion in cash

NEW YORK (AP) _ The nation's top Spanish-language television network, Univision Communications Inc., will pay $1.1 billion for the television stations of USA Networks Inc., the media company headed

Thursday, December 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ The nation's top Spanish-language television network, Univision Communications Inc., will pay $1.1 billion for the television stations of USA Networks Inc., the media company headed by Barry Diller.

The cash deal, announced Thursday, would give Univision 13 TV stations and USA Network's minority stakes in four other stations. Diller said separately he had been ``overly ambitious'' about his plans for the station group.

Univision already reaches 92 percent of U.S. Hispanics and holds an 80 percent share of the audience. Telemundo Networks, owned by Sony Corp. and AT&T's Liberty Media, holds 20 percent of the market share.

Besides the Univision Network, Univision also owns 12 full-power TV stations and seven low-power stations. Univision plans to convert its 13 new stations to Spanish-language programming.

``As the U.S. Hispanic market continues to expand, we believe there will be tremendous demand for Spanish-language entertainment,'' Univision CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio said in a statement.

The deal would give Univision two stations in each of several key cities with large Hispanic populations, including New York and Los Angeles. Federal prohibitions against one company owning two stations in a single market have recently been lifted, though the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.

The Wall Street Journal said in a story published Thursday that other companies had expressed interest in the stations including The Walt Disney Co. and Tribune Co., one of the largest broadcasters.

Diller said in a statement that he decided to sell the stations in part because of ``a realistic assessment of our inability to either go it alone or join in an equal partnership with a stronger broadcast group to build the stations into competitive forces in their markets.''

In addition, he said he wanted to focus USA Networks' efforts on its cable program services, which include the USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel and on the production and distribution of TV shows and movies.

``In hindsight, we were probably overly ambitious in attempting to develop these stations locally,'' he said.

The stations being sold include two serving the New York market, and one each in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Cleveland, Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla. It has minority stakes in stations in San Francisco, Denver, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

Univision shares were up $1.31 to $37.62 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while USA Networks shares rose $1 to $17.875 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.